"Practice and Advice" Log Date: 7/30/00 Log Cast: Naiadre, Kaiulani Log Intro: With her family leaning on her almost as heavily about the need for her to sharpen her mental control--as befits a Pandion royal--Kaiulani has as of late spent almost as much time diligently practicing a simple exercise of telepathic discipline as she has upon daydreaming about her unnamed protector. And the 'tunnel' practice, the exercise of trying to focus her thoughts down a narrower channel, has begun to stand the girl in good stead even if she's been giving her guardsmen headaches. But she has a ways to go before she can truly call herself adept--or Adept, for that matter. And as she comes across the First Acolyte Naiadre in the Korallion, Kai gets an opportunity to show the young woman who's appointed herself Kai's teacher the results of her labors... and to share with her the latest news about her mysterious guardian as well.... *===========================< In Character Time >===========================* Time of day: Evening Date on Aether: Monday, November 11, 3906. Year on Earth: 1506 A.D. Phase of the Moon: Full Season: Fall Weather: Wind Temperature: Cool *==========================================================================* Rainbow Cavern - Korallion - Haven Refreshing waters fill this room, which is fashioned of coral and lit by florescent, multi-colored algae. Decorating the walls is an elaborate scene of guardsmen dressed in their finery, riding on the back of sea horses. The mural itself begins at one end of the cavern and continues to the opening at the other. Upon the other wall is a mural depicting a great feast on a large table. Many merfolk swim and dance around the grand table set for the ten Decemvirs--the kings of Atlantis. In the foreground is the famed city of itself. All in all, this cavern seems well lit and frequently trafficked by schools of brightly colored fish. The gentle pull of the current tugs at you, beckoning for you to come into the next chamber. Above you is a small opening that allows dim light to enter the room, presumably from the surface. Another opening at the far end of the cavern is another opening, rimmed in an elaborate pattern of shells. Contents: Naiadre Obvious exits: Grotto Entrance Surface A cool fall evening has descended upon Haven, and a full moon hangs so round as if pregnant in the sky above the sea. The sea is calm, although there are many dashing to and fro within the waves, many of them Pasiphaeans bent on celebration. Naiadre, however, floats here beneath the Korallion, alone, studying the mosaics on the walls. Not entirely alone, perhaps. A slender near-white form comes slicing neatly through the water that courses through this chamber, pearlescent hair streaming in a comet-tail in her wake, dainty bare feet kicking agilely against the current... Kaiulani. Alone for once as well, and even as she swims into the cavern, she catches sight of the First Acolyte across the way. She doesn't have to really announce herself; her presence is _there_, though it flares up but briefly before retreating to a background murmur in the mind. Ah. Perhaps the girl's been practicing her shielding? And perhaps she seems to realize that she may have just inadvertantly broadcasted her arrival, for she then sends forth ruefully and with a hopeful amiability, *Greetings, First Acolyte, and blessings...* Naiadre spins about in the water, multi-colored hair flaring and mind searching ahead of her. A flash of webbed hands stops her turn and she greets the princess with a brush of her own mind. *Blessings, Pandion Kaiulani.* She sends lightly, her mind more walled off than ever today. Perhaps that is why she failed to notice Kai, perceptive as she is. *Evading your guards?* *They'll leave me alone for the time being, as long as I'm within the Korallion and I check in every so often,* the maiden replies with that same cheerful ruefulness, along with a tinge of continued frustration that she must answer to regular guardians in the first place. *I hope I do not disturb with my passing? I'd hoped to find you again...!* Naiadre smiles briefly within their minds, an extension of warmth and yellow amusement. *Indeed? I had hoped to meet you again as well; I wanted to see how you were getting on with your practicing. And worry not. You have not disturbed me. Although I seek sanctuary here, it does not mean I wish it to be a lonely one.* Relief and delight ripple forth from the Pandion maiden, and, taking that as encouragement, she swims over more closely. *I've taken your advice and practiced with Ronan a good deal, though I gave him _and_ myself a headache the morning we last spoke! Then we had the Great Swim to deal with -- and now the moon's swung round again, and it looks like it's your Order's turn for celebration. I'm sort of surprised I was able to find you.* Naiadre smiles physically this time, but it is a wry expression at best and she turns her head away. Webbed fingers splay over the murals and her thoughts roil behind her shields. *You will always be able to find me during this time, either here, or on one of the beaches, if you need me. I do not join the Celebration after the ceremony. But I am glad you've been practicing. Come, show me what you've learned.* She opens her mind partially to Kai, looking at her once more. Inclining her pale head, Kaiulani draws herself up a little straighter in the water, letting both her gaze and her thoughts focus upon the young priestess. There's no substantial difference in the Pandion princess' stare -- but it may be seen to be a trifle more focused, a trifle more intent than seems to be her wont. This same tightening of attention is echoed in her mind as she replies brightly, *I have been practicing the tunnel exercise each morning, for starters. Does it show?* Naiadre brushes Kai's aura, an almost imperceptible sensation that might cause a person light chills. *It does, somewhat.* She assures. *You definitely seem more focused, and you leak less. But let us test how much control you have. Something happened to you that day in the Rialto. What was it? Did you see your guardian?* She probes. A shiver of reaction, palpable in the girl's mind and for a moment in the flash of her sea-green eyes -- but with an effort, Kaiulani manages to keep a steady expression, and to tamp down hard upon the inevitable surge of emotion within her at the mention of the one of whom Naiadre speaks. *No,* she answers, and what comes down the tunnel between the two women is a mix of profound relief and acute disappointment. *There was a Sylvan... I tried to buy food for her, you see, but she asked an impertinent question, and Akane was so angry! She ran... bumped into one of the Varati nearby. He hit her.* Displeasure adds itself to the mix now, but thus far, the mental tunnel is holding. The First Acolyte absorbs this and presses on relentlessly. *What sort of question, Kaiulani?* *She wished to know who I'd slept with,* is the young Pandion's immediate reply, though it brings a flush of color to her cheeks despite the cooling kiss of the water against her flesh. * I am not entirely sure why... I... er... presume she thought that my attempt to be generous must have stemmed from... ah... mating.* *The minds of the landdwellers are often a curious affair, I am told. Despite my Adept status, I have yet to touch one completely myself. My teacher has been...indisposed of late. And Okalani has a gift for asking disarming questions, indeed. My only comfort is I often am able to embarrass her, teacher of mine though she is.* She smirks lightly and inclines her head. *So there has been no further word or sighting of your guardian?* Kaiulani is still blushing vigorously -- though now, she casts a glance left, a glance right, as if wary of someone perhaps swimming in on them. Then she swivels her attention back to the older woman, thoughts furrowing as a lander's brow might do in bemusement, though her own brow remains clear. This second mention of the mysterious one who seems intent on watching over her sends a powerful ripple through her mental concentration... and then, with another effort, she hauls those unseen walls laboriously back into place. *Not... exactly,* she hedges, her mind's voice gone small within that confinement she's drawn about herself and the priestess. There's a flash of curiosity -- someting in reaction to the thought that a lander's mind could be touched, perhaps? -- but Kai doesn't address it, not quite yet. It's apparent that holding her own mental walls is requiring a good deal of her concentration. Naiadre continues to prod and poke about Kai's aura and shields invasively, listening intently all the while to what the princess says. *Then what exactly is happening? Please, Kai, enlighten me.* The younger woman breathes in, out, in, out, her gills flexing and relaxing rhythmically as she strives to keep her mental 'wall' in place -- not necessarily to keep Naiadre out, but to hold back the tangle of emotions roiling within her as she contemplates her nameless protector. At last, she sends tinily, *He has... given me gifts!* And a tendril of emotion does leak through, a warm, rich swirl of what very well may be infatuation. Naiadre smiles widely, nodding. *Good, good.* Whether or not she speaks of Kai's guardian, or of Kai's control, is uncertain. *Gifts, you say? Share with me, if you do not mind, Kai. Images and emotions can be shared easily. It is whether you overwhelm others with them you need to be wary of.* *You... won't tell Cousin Sarojin?* For a fraction of an instant, Kaiulani's face and thoughts resonate as those of a younger girl might, plaintive and vulnerable, tasting both of uneasiness about keeping secrets from her kin... a sullen resentment at Sarojin, for the threat he's levied against her protector... and a bubbling wonder that Someone considers her special, to give her lovely, secret things. Naiadre returns a swift promise, rife with underlying tension and meaning. At the image of Sarojin's face, there comes a surge of resentment in her that might overtake even Kai's. *I promise I will not tell.* Although her emotions are shared, there is no wavering of her shields or control, an example for the Pandion. Kaiulani's answer to that is an uprising of gratitude and relief -- she is not accustomed to having an ally outside of her sister, and to have one declare herself now brings those emotions stinging at the edges of her mind, as tears might do her eyes if she were out of the water. And then she sends, as closely and privately as she can, a pair of images: a lovely comb crafted from a piece of shell, decorated with small bits of coral and the tooth of... a shark? And pipes, like a lander musician might play, but crafted from bone rather than from wood or reed. Naiadre closes her eyes a split second, savoring the images. *How do you know they were intended for you?* That, admittedly, catches Kaiulani slightly off guard, and though it pains her to do so, she reluctantly gives form to the acknowledgement that they very well might not be. But this is almost overriden by the conviction she appends that they _are_ for her, for the comb floated seemingly out of nowhere, down into her hands as she was swimming under one of the docks -- *And it has a shape on it,* she confides, *a shape in coral... and I found a bit of coral that looked like that, out a ways from here... that's where I found the pipes...!* Interwoven under these recountings is a layer of memory from her younger years -- the way other little trinkets and tidbits used to show up around the paths of her rambles, like that very pearl she had brought to the Temple as an offering to Naiadre's Goddess. Naiadre smiles briefly, opening her eyes again. Her mental tone is warm. *I am sure they were for you, Kai. I merely wondered how he conveys these presents to you. 'Tis most certain he is an admirer of you.* She turns the tide of conversation away from the mystery man for the moment. *I am quite impressed with your control today. You speak underwater, clearly, and your shields leak little. There are still a few chinks, but this is to be expected. Keep practicing, and it will help. Yes, I am quite impressed.* She sends. _He admires me...!_ Not quite as dizzyingly phrased as Okalani had done, for the High Priestess had brought up the daunting prospect that her protector might even love her... but still, this is enough to bring a starry blaze to Kaiulani's eyes, and send a thrilling shiver of hope through her entire system. And then, hard on the heels of that, comes the praise. The maiden gazes with a full, open smile upon the First Acolyte now, unable to contain her expression though she does send with credible modesty, *Thank you... I shall! Shall I continue the exercise you have shown me, or try something different, yet...?* Naiadre smiles briefly. *Do not let it go to your head, yet, Kaiulani. There is still much to learn. Being Pandion, it would suit you to rise to Adept, and perhaps help your search for your guardian, although it may take some time. Continue this exercise, but also continue speaking through different elements, air and water, and at different extents of space, close and far, from those you speak with. This will strengthen you.* It is difficult, but Kaiulani reins in her enthusiasm, at least somewhat. The advice is cautionary -- but it's a far cry from the quelling reprimands she's gotten from her cousin, and her own parents. * I will do this!* she pledges. And there, again, is that slightly sharpened focus to her eyes -- but is it born of her attempt to sharpen her thoughts? Or from her spirit rising to the challenge? It could be either... or both. Either way, Naiadre will be satisfied if the girl applies herself. *Very good. Now, if there is nothing else, I have some things to attend to...* She trails off, shutting off the spare flare of wildness that spears through the link. Kaiulani inclines her head swiftly, in acknowledgement of the priestess' need to apply herself to her own duties. *,* flows forth her farewell. *Thank you again, First Acolyte...!* Naiadre pauses as she draws near the entrance to the outer grotto, fresh sea currents tugging at her braids. A slim webbed hand darts out to brush against Kai's cheek fondly. *Thank you, Kai. Farewell to you.* She turns, slipping out into the ocean with a strong kick of her legs. [End log.]